The highest number of single-day cases recorded in the slum during the second wave of the pandemic was 99 on April 8 this year
Health workers conduct door-to-door screening for Covid-19 at Kumbharwada, Dharavi, in April this year. File pic
For the first time since the second wave of the pandemic hit the city, one of the largest slums in the country — Dharavi — has not recorded a single Covid-19 case on Monday. Even the active cases in the area currently stand at 13, which was more than 1,000 about two months ago.
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According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), apart from the efforts of the civic officials, the infection could be controlled in the slum mainly because the residents were proactive in following the instructions. They said that even the participation of the NGOs and volunteers to curb the cases helped a lot.
Since April 1 last year, when Dharavi reported its first Covid-19 case, the BMC has been on its toes to control the spread. While this is the seventh time that the slum did not record a single case, it happened on Monday for the first time in the second wave. The highest number of single-day cases recorded in Dharavi during the second wave was 99 on April 8 this year.
Following this, the number stayed between 60 and 70, sometimes dipping to 50, throughout April. It was only in May that it went below 50 and towards the end of May it started dipping below 20. The first week of June brought some hope as the active cases started to fall and fewer daily cases were recorded. Of the 13 active cases in the area, six are in home-quarantine, three in isolation centres and four are admitted to hospital.
Sources said that with the vaccination drive in the area picking pace, it would help stop spread of the infection further. More than 22,00 beneficiaries in the area have been vaccinated so far. The civic officials in coordination with NGOs and volunteers working in the area have started to reach out to citizens so that they get vaccinated.
The BMC ward office has been conducting tests in large numbers in the area to ensure that infected people are isolated on time.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Kiran Dighavkar, said, “Mobile testing vans, door-to-door screening and coordinated efforts of our officials, volunteers and NGOs have helped achieve this goal time and again.”
22k
No. of people who have taken the vaccine in Dharavi
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